1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle hood structure, and in particular, to a vehicle hood structure which is applied to a vehicle such as an automobile or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle hood structure which is applied to a vehicle such as an automobile or the like, a structure is conventionally known (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 8-80873) in which a hood inner panel is provided at the reverse surface of a hood outer panel which has a convex planar portion and concave planar portions, the convex planar portion and the concave planar portions being sectioned off from one another by step portions. In this conventional structure, impact absorbing bodies are provided between the hood outer panel and the hood inner panel. The impact absorbing bodies are supported at the hood inner such that the impact absorbing bodies support vicinities of the step portions of the convex planar portion from the reverse surface thereof and, when the distance by which the hood is moved reaches a predetermined magnitude, the impact absorbing bodies crush-deform, and generate a desired reaction force.
However, in this vehicle hood structure disclosed in JP-A No. 8-80873, the impact absorbing bodies must be provided as separate bodies between the hood outer panel and the hood inner panel. As a result, an increase in the number of parts, an increase in the weight, and an increase in the assembly cost are inevitable. Further, as some portions of the impact absorbing bodies fail to collapse sufficiently at the time of a collision and such insufficiently collapsed portion cannot be utilized as the energy absorbing stroke, the overall energy absorbing stroke decreases.